On 2 September 2021, Gert Jan Geertjes defended his thesis 'Staatsrecht en conventie in Nederland en het Verenigd Koninkrijk'. The doctoral research was supervised by Prof. L.F.M. Verhey and Prof. W.J.M. Voermans.

Refugees’ effect on domestic terrorism is conditioned by host-country social perception (attitude about living next-door to foreigners) and economic competition. These hypotheses are tested cross-nationally from 1995-2014 leveraging data from the World Values Survey.

The authors compare assumptions about normative utility of the term 'environmental refugee' with empirical evidence compared to 'environmental migrant'.

Leiden University supports refugee students by improving access to education, removing obstacles to academic success and encouraging contact with fellow students and staff. In doing so, we strive to contribute to an inclusive climate at Leiden University.

The author researched the motivations of bureaucrats to integrate refugees into welfare services even when they do not have any legal obligation to do so.

This project applies a social-historical approach to examine and contrast various groups of African-American slave refugees who sought freedom within North America between 1800 and 1860. It innovatively distinguishes between different “spaces of freedom” for runaway slaves, namely sites of formal, semi-formal,…

This study investigates how two social and political developments, in the UK and Germany, impacted on the experiences of minorities and the attitudes of majorities vis-à-vis tolerance in those two countries. The results provide a thought-provoking picture of the views of minority and majority groups…

From ca. 1540 to 1600, thousands fled the war-stricken Southern Low Countries to the British Isles, Germany, and the Northern Low Countries. Research on this displacement crisis, central to the formation of the Netherlands and Belgium, reflects 21st-century debates on migration and language: language…

How can we promote more durable solutions to protracted refugee situations and which roles can connectivity and mobility of displaced people play to improve protection and resilience?

French title: Entre la “détresse’’ et l’inter-connectivite : le case de Mbororo réfugies sur les frontières Cameroun-Centrafrique. This research project investigates the meaning of duress in the lives of nomadic refugees in Cameroon and investigates if and how the accessibility of new ICT’s allow them…

The Netherlands-Flemish Institute in Cairo (NVIC) and the Amsterdam Centre for Migration and Refugee Law (ACMRL) of the VU University Amsterdam organise a public seminar about global migration and refugee law in Egypt and Morocco, focusing on the International Convention on the Rights of Migrant Workers…

Preparations for receiving 123 refugees in the University Sport Centre have been in full swing for several days. The large sports hall will be transformed into a dormitory, and a living and dining area. There will also be two recreation areas, one for adults and one for children.

On the 24th of November Aditi Mukherjee successfully defended a doctoral thesis and graduated.

On 3-4 December 2024, HIAS Greece and the Rosa Luxemburg Stiftung organised a roundtable that took place in Athens to discuss strategic litigation in the area of migration and refugee law.

On World Refugee Day, held every year on 20 June, we commemorate the strength, courage and perseverance of millions of refugees. Leiden University is committed to students with a refugee background. For example, the university has set up a Meeting Point and the Leiden Science Run raises money for UAF,…

From Friday evening 23 October Leiden University will receive 120 refugees in our University Sport Centre (USC) on the Einsteinweg in Leiden. The refugees will stay for a week, up to and including Friday 30 October. This measure has consequences for students and staff. Sporting activities in the sport…

On 7 May 2020, Jolanda van der Vliet defended her thesis 'The International Legal Protection of Environmental Refugees. A human rights-based, security and State responsibility approach'. The doctoral research was supervised by Prof. N.J. Schrijver and Prof. J.J.C. Voorhoeve.

In less than two years’ time, Florian Volz and Timo Schmidt, both German students studying International Studies in The Hague, went from knowing each other only vaguely to sharing a small tent and a bank account. Sounds like any other ordinary relationship, right? Well, not exactly. These two honours…

What is a refugee? This question might seem easy to answer, but it is not, concludes Catherina Wilson. For 7 years she did research in The Democratic Republic of the Congo near the Ubangi river, on refugees from the Central African Republic. The research shows that among refugees there exists a wide…

Mariana Gkliati was invited by the Lawyers Without Borders Student Division of Aberdeen University to participate in their Annual Human Rights Conference dedicated to refugee protection.

A controversial comment made by Mona Keijzer of the Dutch BBB party (Farmer-Citizen Movement) calling for the return of Ukrainian refugees and Ukrainian conscription-age men to safe areas of Ukraine has sparked fierce criticism. Mark Klaassen, Associate Professor of Immigration Law and a member of the…

The recent rise in global migration movements and the simultaneous attempts to prevent migrations to the Global North in general and Europe in particular have produced numerous images and narratives that try to record and convey these events and their actors.

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Three MA students of the Institute of Immigration Law, Nick Perre, Myrthe De Vries and Hannah Richards have co-authored together with Mariana Gkliati, a blog deconstructing the notion of the ‘refugee crisis’ and connecting it with observations from a wider spectrum of socio-economic formations, which…

Improving lives and fostering integration with Big Data

This book investigates how gay-identified immigrants and refugees experience feelings of inclusion or exclusion within a sexually-charged online subculture. Explores the response of ethnic minorities to demonstrations of racism and xenophobia within an intolerant European climate. Challenges political…

Ukrainian refugees are being allowed to work in the Netherlands straight away. So Why do other refugees sometimes have to wait years before they can work?

Who is welcome as a refugee, and who is not? And how is that decided? What role do humanitarian organisations play in the debate surrounding refugees? Doctoral candidate Teuntje Vosters is investigating the influence Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) exert on European policy on migration and ref…

On 12 September 2018 Rijpma, Associate Professor of European Law at the Europa Institute, spoke at the Netherlands Institute in St. Petersburg in the framework of the Dutch Wednesday lecture series.

What started as a call for help in a Facebook group turned into a permanent group of students from the Bachelor's in Russian Studies and the Master's in Russian and Eurasian Studies who regularly help the Ukrainian refugees. They act as the link between the refugees and aid workers at various reception…

The 9th Network Europe Conference in Edinburgh was held at June 2017 in Edinburgh and organized by the Europa Institut Zurich. The contributions of the conference are now published.

Timo Schmidt and Florian Volz, both International Studies students, have travelled the route many refugees took to reach Europe by bike in the summer of 2016. Through crowdfunding, they want to finance their documentary about this journey. With three days to go, they are at 90% of their target amount…

For refugee children, the right to information is of great importance to make their voice heard. Stephanie Rap is studying the child’s right to participate in the asylum procedure. She has also studied the working method of the Dutch Council for Refugees in this context.

With the support of the Foundation for Refugee Students UAF, Russia expert Oshank Hashemi, a cum laude graduate of Leiden University, has won the Peter Baehr Prize 2016.

In September 2016, the educational programme Universe Awareness (UNAWE) implemented a series of educational activities at Basisschool De Verrekijker, a primary school for refugee children in Katwijk, the Netherlands.

Computer skills are essential if you want to become part of Dutch society. Leiden University and Stichting Bestaanskracht, an organisation that helps the vulnerable, are therefore providing computer lessons for refugees who can use some extra digital help.

Clothes designer, manager at a multinational or dermatologist: the twenty refugee students who are taking part in the Preparatory Study Year in Leiden (VJL) are burning with ambition. The study year started on Thursday 26 January in festive style.

Solafa Saad (29) fled her homeland of Sudan for the Netherlands in 2016. She is now following the Leiden Preparatory Year (VGL), an initiative by Leiden University, Leiden University of Applied Sciences and the Foundation for Refugee Students (UAF) that prepares young refugees to study. ‘I regained…

What do refugees use their mobile phones for? And what does it mean for aid workers in reception camps? The Leiden Centre for Innovation studied this issue together with researchers from Harvard Humanitarian Initiative and Data & Society.

'Mariana Gkliati delivered a presentation entitled: 'Accountability of the Europepan Border and Coast Guard Agency: The Litigation Route' at the Refugee Law Initiative's 2nd Annual Conference in London, on Monday 5 June

Seven International Studies students are at the helm of Reach & Teach, a student platform that uses language lessons and social activities to promote the integration of holders of residence permits and asylum seekers in The Hague. Elsa Varela Put chairs the project and explains how it came into bein…

A large table with tablecloth, a sitting area with soft lighting. A new meeting place in Plexus for students from a migrant background, opened on 6 October. It's has a homely atmosphere, which is just what these students are looking for.

Many people have fled to the Netherlands since the outbreak of war in Ukraine, including students. But even before this war, students with refugee backgrounds were eager to study at Leiden University. How does the University help young people from various backgrounds find their way around the Dutch…

Thanks to the Preparatory Year Leiden, refugee students get the opportunity to start a new study or continue their current one. This joint programme of Leiden University and University of Applied Sciences Leiden enters its third year. In this video, participants talk about their experiences.

Europe is still trying to control migration to the continent. In doing so, it has to navigate between humanitarian ideals and public support.

Students from no fewer than 26 different countries are visiting Leiden from 25-28 February to discuss the refugee crisis and European integration.

From virtual education to a friendly meeting place where refugees and Dutch students can get to know one another. Investing in refugees is in the interest of the whole of our society. This was the message of the students who opened the Academic Year of Leiden University on 5 September.

Three NGOs are suing the Dutch state for actively contributing to the suffering of refugees on Greek islands. In Dutch newspaper ‘Trouw’, the organisations say that the suffering was caused by the Netherlands agreeing to the EU-Turkey deal.

This year Elke Devroe and Moniek Akerboom organized a ‘Research Design Conference’ for students in the course ‘Research Design’ of the Master’s Crisis and Security Management (CSM). Each group competed in obtaining a (fictive) grant. Students learned to defend their proposal and make it attractive and…